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The irony of the flying saucer program is that the researchers actually invented a hovercraft. The craft took advantage of ground effect—where the air interaction with the ground increases pressure on the lower part of a wing, and hence increases lift. Had the military's ambitions ended there, they could have gotten a jump start on building a hovercraft. But the U.S. military wanted fast interceptors and high-flying jeeps, so the chance was lost. Then again, even today ground effect vehicles remain recreational oddities.